Holistic Wellness with Mena

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Holiday Baked Salmon & Vegetables

Affiliate Disclosure

(Originally published on 10 Feb 2016 at https://CornFreeHipie.com)

I am often asked what I eat for Thanksgiving by my students who know that I am an immigrant who is allergic to corn and has Celiac Disease. Being an island girl who grew up eating "fruits of the sea", it's a no brainer: seafood!

I shared my first Thanksgiving meal with my husband when it fell on his birthday over a decade ago. Neither he nor I wanted to fuss over a turkey for several reasons: (1) It is not our favorite meat, (2) I do not think mine could ever be as good as my late mother's, and (3) Celebrating his birthday was more important than celebrating with a traditional U.S.-style meal...one I have never truly had which is fine by me.

So our first big holiday meal together consisted of baked salmon and veggies (an idea we had seen in a magazine), stuffed mushrooms (a favorite from our first date), and my caramel apple oat squares topped with ice cream! Yum!

Fast forward a decade+ and add my corn allergy accompanied with my Celiac Disease and the meal has been revamped to be paleo(-ish). Even with the revamp, I still hear my Foodie-in-Crime making his yummy sounds as he enjoys the meal with our Mini-Foodies.

Ingredients

  • 1 lb. wild Alaska salmon

  • 1 red bell pepper

  • 4 - 6 zucchini

  • ½ - 1 lb. mushrooms

  • 1 - 2 tomatoes

  • Homemade parmesan cheese (cashew & unfortified nutritional yeast)

  • Italian herb seasoning

  • sea salt

  • ground black pepper

Notes on ingredients: 1 lb. tends to feed 2 adults & 2 children, so adjust according to the size of your dinner party. I do not usually measure how many vegetables I use, the above are guidelines. Please use safe for you vegetables. I enjoy brown as well as crimini mushrooms in this recipe. Red bell peppers give a strong balance and you may wish to omit the tomatoes for example.

Method

  1. Preheat oven to 425ºF. Line a glass baking dish with enough parchment paper to create a pouch.

  2. Center salmon on parchment.

  3. Season with salt, pepper & herbs.

  4. Layer with desired vegetables.

  5. Season with salt, pepper, herbs & parmesan.

  6. Repeat with another layer of vegetables followed by seasonings & parmesan.

  7. Close pouch by wrapping around & under.

  8. Bake for approximately 25 minutes.

  9. Serve warm. Enjoy!

Thanksgiving dinner plated up is (from top left going clockwise): Baked Salmon & Veggies,  Stuffed Bell Pepper, & Stuffed Mushrooms.